CFH News
Preferred Site Announced

Preferred site for Bellevue permanent men’s homeless shelter announced

Bellevue – December 19, 2018

The search for a site to build a permanent shelter in Bellevue for homeless men took a significant step Wednesday, as Bellevue-based Congregations for the Homeless (CFH) announced it is pursuing part of a surplus property owned by King County located at 13620 SE Eastgate Way, Bellevue in one of the land use districts approved for shelters.

David Bowling, CFH Executive Director, said the organization conducted an extensive review of sites in Bellevue, based on feedback from the community and guidance from the Land Use Code Ordinance passed last July by the Bellevue City Council.

“CFH reviewed over a dozen sites,” Bowling said. “From that list, we evaluated seven of the sites against a robust set of 13 criteria to ensure a shelter that works for the wider community and effectively serves men experiencing homelessness.” The surplus King County property on Eastgate Way meets Bellevue’s zoning requirements, meets key criteria for addressing community safety concerns while also meeting the highest needs of men experiencing homelessness and can reasonably be developed within our three-year timeframe, Bowling said.

Bellevue leaders have been looking for a permanent year-round shelter site to serve men experiencing homelessness since 2014. This year, the Bellevue City Council adopted regulations to guide permitting of Homeless Services Uses. They include holding a community meeting, signing a “Good Neighbor Agreement” with the city defining safeguards, and establishing an advisory committee.

“Ultimately,” said Bowling, “the challenge is to give confidence to both the city and community that this is an appropriate site we can have up and running by 2022. Time is a major factor. We hope our current winter program at Lincoln Center will be expanded to year-round services soon. Once that happens, we expect to only have three years to operate here under the emergency permitting process. Therefore, we have just three years to get a new permanent facility approved and built so we don’t close our doors to the men. Time is of the essence to serve men from Bellevue and the greater Eastside who are experiencing homelessness.”